The murder story spans 50 years, during which time the protagonists hear a cabaret act performed by a not- too-talented folk singer named Charlie Manson, and one of them even shakes the hand of the up-and-coming congressman Richard Nixon.

On page 69, Nick, one of the four Becker brothers, discovers the headless body of beauty queen Janelle Vonn in an abandoned orange-packing house. And therein lies a tale.